The new partnership and project metal have no correlation to each other whatsoever.
I think many of us generally have a skewed impression of what Project Metal actually is, based on how it was initially announced a few years ago, as being a great technological leap that will bring us several graphical features; while partly true, it has given quite a warped perception of what it is supposed to be and do.
I think most of us need to be reminded that Project Metal is still rather boring and hard to talk about because in isolation it does not bring any tangible new features, unlike, say, a sneak peek of the NEOās engine; itās quite hard to sneak peek a loading screen being half a second quicker. Maybe thatās your cup of tea, but it certainly isnāt everyoneās 
To constantly update people on such would likely involve getting into more nitty-gritty details to which most people who are out there playing mobile flight sims would go āCool, but I donāt really care?ā. Itās a task getting anyone without much of a software background to appreciate what the project does. Hence, there needs to be more reason to justify spending the time updating people in a formal and official manner on how itās going other than the ways youāve already been told, so Iām not too sure what more you want to hear 
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@_ServerNoob @APPR119.275 I will say though (and this is besides the fact that I like what yāall are saying), the only problem I see with that is the community turning even these updates into deadlines and due dates. Also the fact that sometimes I like keeping some new features as surprises!
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Im here. Project metal was created by dark IF to distract users from the update timelines 
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If your mental health is suffering from this game it might be time to set it down for a while lol
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I see your point, but I think it misses what weāre actually asking for. We arenāt asking for tiny, boring details. We just want to know how the game is moving forward. For example, developers donāt need to explain the complicated code. They could just say, āThe work we have done has done this.ā Thatās simple and gets people excited for the present/future. Saying that most players ādonāt careā isnāt fair to the many dedicated fans who want to follow the gameās progress. Itās not right to ignore one group just because another has different interests; a good community should try to include everyone. Plus, taking a little time to share a simple update is much easier than dealing with frustrated players all the time. Being kept in the loop is an important part of what we pay for. The only reason people are confused about Project Metal is because of the silence. Giving quick updates on what they have done (like i mentioned on my other comment) would help everyone know whatās up and would make them see how things are being added instead of being frustrated for not being too transparent about it. We donāt need to watch the paint dry; we just want to see the wall done.
As much as both you and I give them money, we do that to have access to the Live servers, multiplayer, global, et cetera. Weāre not owed an insight into their development process and yet I would argue IF is among the most transparent and open teams when it comes to sharing their development, and anyone has the ability to gain access to such insights whether or not they pay for a subscription, you kind of just need to find it:
In my opinion, itās as good of a balance between the big picture, and the details of what it does, as you can really get. Like I said, based on what they have said already, I struggle to understand what more you can ask, but feel free to inquire further, and Iāll try my best, or someone else a little more qualified will 
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Iād like to thank you for your clear and respectful response, furthermore Iād like to clarify my position. I understand our subscription pays for server access, but as a live-service game, that subscription is also an investment in the gameās future. This ongoing relationship creates a natural desire to understand the direction of the development we are all funding. This leads to the main problem, which is the idea that information is available but we ājust need to find it.ā Effective communication shouldnāt be a treasure hunt through forums; it should be clear, centralized, and easy for any subscriber to see, rather than requiring someone to piece together scattered comments. So when you say you struggle to understand what more could be asked, the request is actually very specific and simple: a single, official, high-level list of development priorities, shared in one easy-to-find place, with no release dates attached. Ultimately, this isnāt about arguing over what we are āowed.ā Itās about suggesting a modern communication practice that would build enormous trust, better manage community expectations, and allow all of us to be even more supportive of the developersā hard work. Feel free to ask questionsš
I care deeply about the progress of the plan, so I spare no effort to collect information about it. However, it is regrettable that this information is very fragmented, and many of their responses require a lot of effort to find (despite the large amount of information). This also makes it difficult for people who are not so concerned about Project Metal to access this information.
I have always believed that the production team should set up a special thread to discuss Project Metal. It does not need to be updated frequently or make any commitments, but only needs to make it more convenient and quick for most people to learn any information about this plan. 
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I think posting a thread specifically for project metal would just cause chaos. By the way, weāve already seen bits of it in the simulator.
I also want to add on saying that some people are ātoo lazyā to read. Some people just donāt even read and ask questions.
I understand this. Project Metal has already impacted IF. But this thread wouldnāt make any commitments to the planājust simply report progress or answer minor questions. Even just stating āweāre still working on itā could resolve most community doubts about Project Metal, since many people grow skeptical due to the difficulty of gathering information.
In this case, creating a thread that facilitates information dissemination would alleviate most concerns. The production team only needs to inform us that development is extremely challenging and requires significant timeāweād understand, as many in the community recognize Project Metalās development difficulties. But timely updates accessible to most people are indeed crucial.
I see what you mean, though itās arguable that this already exists in some respect through the likes of the the aircraft tracking threads, the blogs, Discord and especially the Development Timeline. Perhaps, by your impression, this could be more accessible in one specific place? Maybe I could stand with you there, because I can agree with you some information, especially from tracking threads, should be easier to find, which isnāt too hard a fix, maybe just pin the darn topic! Though, Iām not sure the informal nature of how they are updating people on Project Metal is the problemā¦
ā¦From my previous post, Jason has reiterated that, admittedly, it was likely a mistake to market Project Metal in the way they did initially, because itās clear that itās very hard to share anything meaningful about how itās going; theyāre probably much more careful about that now. I trust that they do want to share as much as they can, just that Project Metal isnāt the right outlet to do that, because itās a long process of adding small bits that add up over time, a little bit like growing taller. A reminder every update including the likes of āLoading time reduced by approximately 1 secondā might be nice, maybe thereās an audience for that but itās not a very ambitious thing to market
Seeing from their perspective and my own personal judgement, it feels like a bit of a lose-lose, because staying silent will frustrate a few, and oversharing will get peopleās hopes up, perhaps too much, as is the nature of this community sometimes. Itās all about setting realistic but optimistic expectations at the end of the day, because itās the right balance of safety and ambition
On finding further information that is cluttered, for fringe information that is hard to meaningfully broadcast to, say, the blogs, being supposedly hard-to-find is to be expected, because not every detail has its chance to be included in some centralised space; if someone is interested, they will at least attempt some more researchā¦itās never gonna be perfect, and thereāll always be some residue information floating around whether we like it or not, such is the nature of the dev team being so open that they often talk one-on-one with the community 
I think part the problem is that we are forgetting that Project Metal is in a very strange standing compared to other, much more tangible features in development, just because they get the spotlight more, though I believe you already understand this well enough. On that note, I do agree that sometimes the official, formally announced information could be a little easier to come by, perhaps thereās a discussion to be had there.
Hopefully I understood your concerns here
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Yes, this is very important. Even if they donāt release anything new, simply mentioning a small update each timeālike just saying āstill in productionāāwould be great. This isnāt about promotion; itās about ensuring that when users look for information on Project Metal, they donāt just see posts from years ago, but can easily access more recent updates. This also conveys a clear message to users: the official team takes Project Metalās development seriously.
This low-cost way of maintaining transparency can not only reassure users but also avoid adding extra burden to the development team. 
Itās always gonna be a slight challenge with Project Metal specifically, just because a wide range of people have a wide, and sometimes inaccurate range of expectations of Project Metal. For instance, if the status was āfinishedā, there would be some uproar from those expecting buildings and dynamic lighting because they misunderstood the assignment 
.
With Metal I think itās probably in their best interest to be relatively quiet, because if more people talk about it and get excited, the expectations, pressure and burden on the team would be higher.
Then again, I think the reminder should be as such: Itās going but it aināt that exciting
I think the team has made that point, even if it isnāt so public))
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Youāre right that information currently exists across blogs, tracking threads, Discord, and the Development Timeline, but that fragmentation is precisely the problem weāre trying to solve, just like you, and I have just mentioned. The goal isnāt to force the developers to share new secrets, but simply to organize the official status from these scattered sources into one easy-to-find summary. A single pinned topic would solve the ātreasure huntā issue for everyone (I have seen way too many of this threads or questions in discord etc).
You brought up the ālose-loseā scenario, where staying silent frustrates people and oversharing gets hopes up, and I think that perfectly describes the current dilemma. However, the centralized, roadmap weāre discussing isnāt one of those two options, itās the āwin-winā solution that sits right in the middle. It avoids the āoversharingā problem because it wouldnāt focus on small details like āloading time reduced by 1 second.ā but would share meaningful things that may matter to some of us. And while casual developer chats can stay scattered, the status of a huge project like Project Metal isnāt āfringe informationā itās foundational and deserves a clear, official home.
Im glad we can agree on this. 
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Iām interested to know what that specifically means to you. In terms of Project Metal what might that be?
On everything else, it can be a relatively viable solution, perhaps my term of āoversharingā wasnāt the best description and Iām sorry I wasnāt so clear. The point I was trying to make was the fact that if it gets talked about publicly, people will get talking perhaps more than they need to, where so many have a particularly warped perception of what itās all about. They may be wrong, but it will come at a cost of time for staff and mods for sure, much worse than the litany of topics that occur every once in a while here, as youāre aware.
Itās so hard to balance the status of Project Metal without talking the nitty-gritty because it is the nitty-gritty. I find it hard to believe thereās a meaningful in-between other than what Iāve already described. The only thing you could really say otherwise is āItās still going, itās on schedule, most of it is here already, enjoy!ā. One sentence that might not warrant a whole topic? I donāt know, because as far as I know thatās as good the news can be ĀÆ\(ć)/ĀÆ
Perhaps then it could warrant a broader topic of general development updates, where it can grouped alongside other things in development. That way I think weāre on the way to a solution we can both get behind, though I think this purpose is better suited for the development timeline, such that it could be used more often, and accessed more conveniently.
Glad to discuss!
some examples
- Example 1: āProject Metal Update: The team has finished refactoring the atmospheric rendering system. This is a key step that will eventually allow for more realistic sky colors and light scattering effects.ā
- Example 2: āProject Metal Update: Weāve completed the transition of the UI elements to the new graphics API. This backend work improves menu performance and ensures compatibility with future devices.ā
you know small things, this may sound like rather boring to you but its something i go through with my friends at time, that is when u get technical with Infinite flight. I would like to mention that I am also trying to achieve my computer science degree, which as you may now understand that i may find that even the coding part may interest me. Tho I do understand for others it may not be the same, so I would agree just show the surface.
I think im done with the topic for now, I dont wanna drag it further out. I thank you for your time and effort you have put into this discussion, Have a nice day!